An array camera is a camera that is made up of multiple imaging components. Each individual imaging component captures data for a two dimensional image of a view. For purposes of this discussion, an imaging component is an individual camera and/or circuitry including an array of pixels that capture data for a two dimensional image of the view. The data of the two-dimensional images can be used to produce super-resolution (SR) images and other types of images of the view using some or all of the data from the various two dimensional images captured by the individual imaging components.
During the manufacture of most digital cameras (including array cameras) and each imaging component of an array camera, a calibration process is typically performed. In a conventional camera or imaging component, the calibration process typically measures a number of characteristics of the imaging component that must be quantified to ensure effective image processing. The calibration of an array camera requires specialized calibration processes to quantify certain characteristics unique to an array camera and not particularly common in conventional digital cameras or imaging components, such as, the uniformity of various intrinsic characteristics among the elements of the array and the extrinsic geometric relationships between the elements of the array.
One aspect of an array camera that is different from conventional cameras is that some types of defects in pixels of an individual imaging component may be compensated for during image processing by using information collected from another imaging component in the array. Thus, an array camera is more tolerant of defects in the individual imaging components.